Since January 2020, the Swedish Football Association requires, following a decision by the Swedish Sports Confederation, that everyone who has regular contact with minors must show an extract from their criminal record that shows, among other things, all sexual offenses - including referees.

However, Caliber's review shows that the football districts handle the control of the referees differently.

There is a district that has not controlled the judges at all.

Västerbotten did not check the load register

In Västerbotten, extracts were not checked at all.

Judges were not considered to have regular contact with young people.

Last year, a person convicted of sexually abusing children was convicted there.

- It sounds very unhappy.

It does not sound good.

Then we must then we have to take another thinker and review how we have reasoned, says Lars Lindgren, Chancellor of the Västerbotten Football Association, to Kaliber.

But after Caliber's review, Lindgren returned, and says that a decision has now been made to start checking register extracts - even for judges.

Caliber's review of everyone who refereed children's and youth football during the month of May last year, shows that a total of twelve people who were convicted of sexual offenses, refereed matches.

In recent years, seven of them have been convicted of sexual offenses, in two cases against minors.

The crimes for the other five are no longer visible in the indictment register because they took place too far back in time.

There were three cases of sexual offenses against minors.

Association: "Serious"

All referees refereed several matches last year.

Andreas Jansson, communications manager at the Swedish Football Association, reacts strongly to the information.

- It is of course serious if you have not done such a check and that it is a referee who also judges children's and youth matches.

It should not happen, he says to Kaliber.



Caliber has also found a case where a person in his role as a judge met children who he was then convicted of having been sexually abused.



- It is of course serious and we must try to ensure that this does not happen in the future.

We will act on it.

We have an obligation to do that, says Jansson.